


Reunited

by Willowflower_Waterlily



Series: I Promised You Forever (Evelyn and Malcolm Hawke series 3) [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 11:16:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4664532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowflower_Waterlily/pseuds/Willowflower_Waterlily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now they've recovered their memories, Evelyn's and Malcolm's paths converge in the Hinterlands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunited

Standing in a clearing, Malcolm isn’t sure how he got there. He looks around at the trees and berry bushes, feeling as though he’s been here before. Then he sees her enter the clearing, the woman from the inn. Malcolm sees fear and pain in her expression, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. She looks around, her gaze landing on him. Malcolm shivers, feeling as though he were a ghost.

A chill goes up his spine when she kneels in front of a small grave. Instinctively Malcolm knows it’s important, that everything will change if she touches the stone. He tries to call out to her, to tell her to stop, but no sound passes his lips. Malcolm can only watch as her shaky hand reaches out to it.

Malcolm’s knees buckle, sending him falling to the ground when she touches the gravestone. Memories flood into his head, memories of another life. His head throbs and his heart races. Struggling to move, Malcolm looks in Evelyn’s direction and sees her crying. He tries to crawls to her, wanting more than anything to help her. He hears her whisper “no,” a pleading tone in her voice. She screams their eldest daughter’s name and passes out. The smell of blood permeates Malcolm’s nostrils, and the image of Leandra lying in a pool of her own blood, dying within a yard of his grave flashes in his mind’s eye before the world fades to black.

 

Waking up with a jolt, Malcolm curls up on his side, crying uncontrollably. All he can think about is Leandra, and how he had failed her and her siblings. If he had only been stronger, if he lived, that attack would never have happened.

Her voice echoes in his mind, telling him she loves him, that she’s sorry, and that it’s all her fault. Malcolm wants to tell her she’s wrong, to throw himself back in time to her. His precious baby girl needed him, and he let her down. Malcolm sees Leandra in his mind, as a baby and growing up, with Junior, Solana, and Lucy. He feels as though his heart is being torn asunder, knowing the pain he caused his children as he mentally relives his last days of life.

Evelyn reaches out to him, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Get up, my love.” Malcolm stretches his arm out toward her, knowing she isn’t really there, but still hoping he’ll be able to touch her. His heart starts beating at a frantic pace when Evelyn starts to fade away. “Get up, and find me.” Evelyn’s words embrace him, her scent replacing the rusty smell of blood lingering from his dream.

 

Clinging to the gravestone, Evelyn begs it to show her more of Leandra. Did she die? Did someone find her in time? Where were her siblings? Were they safe, or did something happen to them too? Evelyn lets go when she accepts that it won’t show her anything else.

Tears cascade down Evelyn’s cheeks as she crawls to where her daughter’s body fell, not trusting her legs enough to walk. She can almost see the blood on the ground, staining the earth even after the decades passed since it happened.

Evelyn’s arms wobble, her chest aching as though someone slammed a maul into her heart. If she and Malcolm moved to Skyhold after the first Venatori attack, they would have been safe. Why did she think it so important to stay here? Was it because she loved it here or because she didn’t want to be back in Skyhold?

Trying to take deep steadying breaths, a task made difficult by the guilt surrounding her, Evelyn looks around, trying to ground herself in the here and now. She knows there’s nothing she can do to change what happened, as much as she wishes she could.  Slowly sitting up, she doesn’t see any other graves. If Leandra died here, wouldn’t she be buried beside her father? Where would she be taken?

A need to know what happened to her children burns through the self-condemnation, giving Evelyn the strength to stand again. She runs down the path back to the house, not looking back at the grave.

 

Malcolm stares at the inn, trying to make himself go through the door. His heart racing in his chest, he isn’t sure if he wants her to be there or not. What if she doesn’t remember him? What if he was the only one to get the memories of their life together back? Even if she did get her memories back, would it matter what they used to have? She could already have someone in this lifetime. Huffing, Malcolm gathers up as much courage as he can and walks through the door. Better to know than to live with what ifs.

 

Evelyn watches Malcolm enter the inn after having stared at it for a while. Does he remember her? Would it matter if he does? He could remember her, but not feel as he did then. Should she follow him or skip going to the inn and head for Skyhold?

Staying hidden, Evelyn spots him leaving the inn about ten minutes later. His shoulders are slumped, and he closes his eyes, pinching his nose. Without thinking, Evelyn approaches him, her heart thundering in her chest. “Malcolm?” Evelyn asks, uncertainty in her voice.

Malcolm’s breathe catches. He looks into Evelyn’s eyes, seeing worry and guilt dance there. Tentatively, he caresses her cheek. Evelyn nuzzles against his hand, sadness clouding her features.

“Do you remember me, Evelyn?”

“Yes, forgive me.” Evelyn looks away from Malcolm, her shoulders shaking as she cries. Malcolm pulls her into an embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Gently rocking her side to side, Malcolm feels like the last piece in the puzzle finally clicked into place. Something he never knew his world was missing until his dream. Pushing those thoughts to the side, he refocuses on Evelyn. “It wasn’t your fault, love. There is nothing to forgive.”

Evelyn extracts herself from Malcolm’s arms, every what if she can possibly think of going through her mind for why it was her fault they died. Why it was her fault he died. Malcolm cups her face with his hands, gently wiping her tears away. Evelyn whimpers when Malcolm kisses her, a tingling sensation running up her spine when their lips collide. Evelyn wraps her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, parting his mouth with her tongue. Malcolm’s hands wander, exploring her body for the first time, though his fingers seem to remember just how she likes to be touched. Evelyn smiles into his lips, when Malcolm’s hands end up on her ass.

Breaking the kiss, Evelyn’s lips tingle. “I want to get to know you as you are in this life. I know I love you with all my heart and soul, but I want to make sure it works between us as we are now.”

“I understand, and I agree with you.” Holding her hands between his, Malcolm kisses her briefly, wanting to taste her lips again. “I love you too.”

“Come with me to Skyhold, please. I need to find out what happened to our children before I can move forward.” Evelyn slips her arms around Malcolm, leaning into him. She shivers, afraid of what they might find when they reach Skyhold.


End file.
